March 20, 2002

The Game: Johns Hopkins (3-0) travels to Charlottesville for a matchup with Virginia (4-1). Hopkins is ranked number one in the nation, while Virginia is ranked fourth. This is JHU's third game of the season against a team ranked in the top four.

A Look Back: Johns Hopkins posted an 8-4 record last season and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals. Virginia posted a 7-7 record last season and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Hofstra.

The Coaches: Dave Pietramala is in his second season as the head coach of the Blue Jays. He sports an overall record of 34-21, including an 11-4 record at Johns Hopkins.

Pietramala spent three years as the head coach at Cornell (1998-2000) before returning to his alma mater last season. He is the only person in the history of college lacrosse who has earned NCAA Division I National Player of the Year honors (1989) and NCAA Division I National Coach of the Year honors (2000).

Dom Starsia is in his 10th season as the head coach at Virginia and sports a record of 103-37 since taking over the Cavalier program. He guided UVa to the 1999 NCAA Championship, its first NCAA title since 1972. Including 10 years as the head coach at Brown, Starsia boasts an overall record of 204-83.

National Rankings:

JHU UVa

Inside Lacrosse 1st 3rd

STX/USILA 1st 4th

Note: For purposes of pre-game rankings, the Johns Hopkins sports information office uses the STX/USILA rankings as each team's official ranking.

About the Ranking: This week's number one ranking for Johns Hopkins marks the first time since the second week of the 1999 season that Johns Hopkins has been ranked number one. In 1999, Johns Hopkins upset Princeton, 12-11 in the season-opener to take over the top spot. The Blue Jays were then beaten by Loyola, 14-5 the following week.

Hopkins Lacrosse on the Radio: Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse games can be heard on WJFK-AM 1300 in Baltimore. The Johns Hopkins Lacrosse Game of the Week presented by Copy World begins with a pre-game show 15 minutes prior to faceoff and includes a 15-minute post-game show. Larry Quinn and Mark Dixon will provide all the play-by-play and expert analysis. All regular-season games (except the games against Albany, North Carolina, Villanova, and Navy) and NCAA Tournament games will be broadcast.

Please note that beginning with the Syracuse game, all Johns Hopkins games that are broadcast on the radio can also be heard on the official web site of Johns Hopkins athletics (www.HopkinsSports.com).

Hopkins Lacrosse on Television: The Johns Hopkins Virginia game will be aired throughout the Mid-Atlantic region on Comcast SportsNet. The Blue Jays are scheduled to hit the air waves eight times this season. Games against Princeton, Syracuse, North Carolina, Maryland, Towson and Loyola will air on WMAR in Baltimore, while the JHU-Virginia game will be aired on Comcast SportsNet. This is in addition to the Hofstra game, which aired in New York on the Madison Square Garden Network. Since 1998, Johns Hopkins has had 29 of its games televised and has posted an 18-11 record in those 28 games.

Hopkins Lacrosse on the Web: The official web site for Johns Hopkins athletics is located at www.HopkinsSports.com.

Series Notes

* Johns Hopkins holds a commanding 50-19-1 advantage in the all-time series against Virginia.

* Last season's 9-8 Virginia win in four overtimes was the longest game in JHU and UVa history.

* Being the higher ranked team in this series has not translated into victories recently. The lower ranked team has won seven of the last 11 in the regular season .

* Despite both teams being fairly evenly matched, blowouts have actually been the norm. Only three of the last 15 games between the two teams have been decided by fewer than three goals and eight of the 15 have been decided by five or more.

About the Cavaliers: Arguably the most talented team in the nation, Virginia boasts perhaps the best blend of youth and experience in the nation. Fresh off three straight wins against teams that advanced to the Final Four last season, the Cavaliers are rolling as the calendar gets ready to flip from March to April.

Two-time First Team All-American Conor Gill leads the way offensively for UVa as he leads the team in scoring with three goals and 16 assists for 19 points. Gill is joined on attack by super-freshmen Joe Yevoli and John Christmas. Yevoli leads the team in goals (14) and is second in points (16), while Christmas is not far behind with nine goals and four assists for 13 points.

As if the fire-power on attack weren't enough, Virginia boasts four midfielders with more goals than any Johns Hopkins player. A.J. Shannon (9g, 6a), Chris Rotelli (8g, 3a), Billy Glading (8g), and Brenndan Mohler (7g, 1a) provide a deep and talented rotation that could be the best in the nation.

Defensively, senior close defender Mark Koontz and sophomore goalie Tillman Johnson anchor a unit which held Notre Dame to five goals and high-scoring Towson to just eight in a 13-8 win. Koontz is still working his way back from an off-season injury, but is one of the top defenders in the nation and garnered First Team All-America honors last season. Johnson, last season's ACC Rookie of the Year, held Towson scoreless for the final 22:44 last Sunday and his goals against average continues to drop while his save percentage continues to rise.

These Are The Facts: Johns Hopkins enters this week's game against Virginia with an all-time record of 797-257-15 (.753) in 114 seasons of play. The Blue Jays own seven NCAA titles, 29 USILA titles, and 6 ILA titles for a total of 42 national championships.

Captain My Captain: Senior defender P.J. DiConza (Manhasset, NY/Manhasset), senior midfielder Matt Hanna (Geneva, NY/Geneva), senior goalie Nick Murtha (Manhasset, NY/Manhasset), junior attackman Bobby Benson (Baltimore, MD/McDonogh) and junior midfielder Adam Doneger (Hewlett, NY/Lynbrook) have been selected as team captains for Johns Hopkins this season.

All In the Family: For the second consecutive season, the Johns Hopkins coaching staff consists entirely of Johns Hopkins' graduates. Head coach Dave Pietramala and assistant coaches Seth Tierney (class of 1991), Bill Dwan (1991), and Howard Offit (1981) all earned their degree at JHU. Prior to last season when Pietramala, Tierney, Dwan and Offit also comprised the Blue Jay coaching staff, the last time the entire coaching staff was made up of JHU graduates was 1984, when the Blue Jays were coached by Don Zimmerman (1976), who was assisted by Jerry Pfeiffer (1966), Joe Devlin (1978), Fred Smith (1950), Joe Cowan (1969), and Dennis Townsend (1966).

Brother Act: Sophomore Corey Harned is the younger brother of Chris Harned, who played attack for the Blue Jays from 1997-2000. Freshman Peter LeSueur is the younger brother of Paul LeSueur, who played midfield for the Blue Jays from 1997-2000 and served as a team captain as a senior.

Tough: Johns Hopkins' season-opening game against Princeton was the latest for the Blue Jays against the defending national champion. Hopkins has now played the defending national champion every year since 1973 (the longest such streak in the nation). The Blue Jays have won six of their last nine and nine of their last 14 games against defending national champions, including wins over Princeton in 1995, 1999, 2002 and Syracuse in 1994, 1996 and 2001.

Tougher: Last week's game against top-ranked Syracuse was also the latest in a long line of games for the Blue Jays against the number one ranked team in the nation. Since 1994, JHU has played 15 games against teams which were ranked number one in the nation at the time of the game. Hopkins is 8-7 in those 15 games, including the season-opening win against Princeton. Currently, JHU has won three straight and five of its last seven against teams ranked number one.

The Toughest: Johns Hopkins will once again play the most difficult schedule in the nation, a fact that was cemented with release of the Faceoff Lacrosse 2002 Strength of Schedule Rankings (right).

The Blue Jays have a strength of schedule rating of 175 to easily out-distance the field in the battle for the toughest schedule in the nation. The Blue Jays will play the other five consensus top six teams in the nation (Princeton/Syracuse/Towson/Virginia/Maryland) and seven of the top 10. Hopkins plays three of last season's Final Four teams and three other teams which advanced to the national quarterfinals.

Getting Tougher: As if Hopkins doesn't already play the most difficult schedule in the nation, the Blue Jays will be adding Duke to their schedule beginning next season.

Anytime, Anywhere: This week's game at Virginia will be Johns Hopkins' 17th straight away from Homewood Field against a team ranked in the top 14 at the time of the game. The Blue Jays are 8-8 in their last 16 games away from Homewood Field. Seven of the eight losses have come to teams ranked in the top five in the nation at the time of the game.

It's Great For Ratings: Two of Hopkins' three games this season have been decided by just one goal. Dating back to last season, seven of JHU's last 15 games have been decided by just one goal. JHU is 5-2 in those seven one-goal games.

More Ratings: Since the beginning of the 2001 season, 11 of Hopkins' 15 games have been decided by three goals or less.

A Final Rating: Johns Hopkins' last three regular-season road games have been decided by one goal.

Youth: It's no secret the Blue Jays may have the youngest team in the nation this season. Of the 40 players on the roster, 16 are freshmen, nine are sophomores, eight are juniors, and seven are seniors.

More Youth: Entering the season, junior attackman Bobby Benson, junior midfielder Adam Doneger, and junior goalie Rob Scherr had combined to start 55 games. The 37 other players on the team had a combined 35 starts to their credit.

Season-Opening Youth: In the first three games of the season, 23 different players have seen playing time for the Blue Jays. Of the 23, nine are freshmen and six more are sophomores.

More Season-Opening Youth: Of the 10 players who have started for Hopkins in the first three games of the season (JHU has used the same starting lineup in each of the first three games), four are freshmen (Kyle Barrie, Peter LeSueur, Kyle Harrison, Chris Watson), one is a sophomore (Conor Ford), one is a junior with one career start entering the season (Mike Peyser) and another is a senior who had never started a game before this season (Nick Murtha).

Points of Youth: Of Hopkins' 26 goals scored in three games 10 have been scored by sophomores, nine have been scored by juniors, six have been scored by freshmen, and one has been scored by a senior.

More Points of Youth: All 18 goals scored by Johns Hopkins in the last two games have been scored by players who will return next season.

Still More Points of Youth: All 28 points the Blue Jays have registered in the last two weeks (18g, 10a) have been amassed by players who will return next season.

Final Point of Youth: 40 of the 41 points JHU has amassed in three games belong to players who will return next season. 30 of the 41 belong to players with at least two years of eligibility remaining.

OK, This is the Last One: The last 23 goals the Blue Jays have scored have been scored by players who will return next season.

Give and Take: 14 of JHU's 15 assists this season belong to freshmen and sophomores.

Statistical Oddity: Through three games, five different Johns Hopkins players have a multi-goal game to their credit (Benson/Boland/Doneger/Ford/Harrison), although not one player has more than one.

And Then There Were Four: Through three games, only Bobby Benson, Adam Doneger, Conor Ford, and Peter LeSueur have registered at least one point in every game.

USA, USA: Johns Hopkins junior attackman Bobby Benson (Baltimore, MD/McDonogh) earned a spot on the United States National Team and will play in this summer's ILF World Championships in Australia.

Topping the Charts: Bobby Benson, Hopkins' only returning All-American after garnering Honorable Mention All-America honors last season, led the Blue Jays in goals (28), assists (14) and points (42) last season. With his one-goal effort against Syracuse, he now has career totals of 62 goals and 17 assists for 79 points. He has four goals and one assist this season.

It's Safe to Say: With one goal against Syracuse, Bobby Benson has scored at least one goal in 26 of the 28 games he has played in during his career and has 18 multi-goal games to his credit. Currently, he has scored at least one goal in 15 straight games.

UVa You Say: In two career games against Virginia, Bobby Benson has six goals and two assists for eight points.

A Change of Scenery: Junior Adam Doneger (Hewlett, NY/Lynbrook) made the move from attack to midfield this season, where he is anchoring Hopkins' top midfield unit. Last season, Doneger finished second on the team in scoring with 18 goals and 12 assists for 30 points.

25 and Counting: Adam Doneger scored one goal in the win over Syracuse, pushing his season totals to five goals and no assists for five points. The one-goal effort extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one point to 25. This is by far the longest active streak on the team.

This is Where it Started: Adam Doneger's current 25-game scoring streak started at Virginia with a two-goal performance off the bench in a 16-8 loss to the Cavs. Doneger entered the starting lineup the following week and JHU promptly won eight games in row before falling in the NCAA Semifinals against top-seeded Syracuse.

I Like it Warm: Adam Doneger entered this season with six career goals in nine games played in March. He already has five in three games this season.

More Warm: Entering this season, Adam Doneger had three or more goals in four games in his career and none of those had come before April 7. His three-goal effort against Hofstra is the earliest he has ever posted a multi-goal game.

"X" Marks His Spot: One of the biggest holes the Blue Jays have to fill is at the faceoff "X", where now-graduated Eric Wedin took over 94% of the faceoffs for the Blue Jays last season and over 1,000 in his career. Freshman midfielder Kyle Harrison (Baltimore, MD/Friends) is expected to handle most of the load this season for Hopkins. Harrison enjoyed an outstanding debut against Princeton as he won 11-of-15 (.733) faceoffs while also grabbing the ground ball on six of the 11 faceoffs he won. Harrison came back to win 5-of-9 against Hofstra and 9-of-15 against Syracuse.

Jump-Start, Part I: Kyle Harrison opened the scoring for Johns Hopkins in the win over Princeton with his first career goal just 1:22 into the game.

Jump Start, Part II: Kyle Harrison ignited Hopkins' game-ending 5-1 run against Syracuse with an unassisted goal with 7:28 remaining in the fourth quarter. Prior to Harrison's goal, Hopkins had been held scoreless for 26:01.

More Scenery Changes: Sophomore Conor Ford (Timonium, MD/St. Paul's) started most of last season on attack and, like junior Adam Doneger, is starting on Hopkins' first midfield unit this season. He tallied one goal in the season-opener against Princeton, one more in the win over Hofstra, and three in the win over Syracuse. He now has scored at least one goal in seven straight games dating back to last season He has scored three or more goals four times in those seven games.

The Streak Goes On: With a three-goal, one-assist effort against Syracuse, Conor Ford now has seven straight multi-point games to his credit, the longest such streak on the team.

Mister Assister: Conor Ford's three assists against Hofstra were one better than his previous career-high of two against Loyola last season. He assisted on the game-tying and game-winning goals against Hofstra.

More Assister: Nine of Conor Ford's 11 career assists have come in the last five games dating back to last season.

Ford Tough: Conor Ford led the Blue Jays with a .667 shooting percentage last season as his 22 goals came on just 33 shots. With three goals on 10 shots against Syracuse, he is now 27-for-50 (.540) in his career.

More Ford Tough: In his last seven games dating back to last season, Conor Ford has 19 goals and nine assists for 28 points. No other player on the team has more than 19 points during the same period.

In the Nick of Time: Senior Nick Murtha (Manhasset, NY/Manhasset) made the first start of his career one to remember as he limited Princeton to just two goals in the first 53 minutes and registered a career-high 11 saves in the 8-5 win.

More Nick: Nick Murtha's effort in goal helped Hopkins hold Princeton to just five goals, the fewest goals the Blue Jays have allowed in a season-opener since 1983, when JHU knocked off UMBC, 15-4.

The Final Nick: Nick Murtha is the first Johns Hopkins goalie since Larry Quinn in 1983 to win the first three starts of his career.

Saving the Day: Nick Murtha registered a career-high 18 saves while allowing just eight goals in the 9-8 win over Syracuse. Seven of Murtha's saves came during the fourth quarter, when Hopkins outscored the Orangemen, 5-1.

Scherr-ing the Load: The Blue Jays boast two proven goalies as junior Rob Scherr (Reisterstown, MD/McDonogh) returns after starting all 12 games last season. Scherr posted an 8.52 GAA and a .587 save percentage last season.

Hail Hanna: Senior Matt Hanna (Geneva, NY/Geneva) scored Hopkins' third goal of the game early in the third quarter in the win over Princeton. In his 15 games at Johns Hopkins (he transferred to JHU from Loyola prior to last season), he has nine goals and one assist. Three of his nine goals have come against Princeton.

McDermott the Middie: One year after playing most of the season on attack, sophomore Joe McDermott (Rockville Centre, NY/South Side) makes the permanent move back to midfield, his natural position. Last season, McDermott finished sixth on the team in scoring with seven goals and 10 assists for 17 points.

More Middie: Joe McDermott registered his first two points of the season with a goal and an assist in the win over Hofstra. His goal late in the second quarter capped a three-goal run for JHU, while he later assisted on Bobby Benson's goal that gave JHU a 6-5 lead. Against Syracuse, McDermott assisted on Kevin Boland's second goal of the game, which drew Hopkins within 8-7 with 2:31 remaining in the fourth quarter.

One Career-High...: Kevin Boland's (Jessup, MD/Gilman) three points (1g, 2a) against Princeton tied his career high for points in a game. He previously had three assists in a 13-11 win over Navy last season.

...Deserves Another Career-High: Kevin Boland's career-high three-point effort against Princeton didn't remain his career-high for very long as he tallied three goals and added two assists to lead Hopkins to the 9-8 win over Syracuse.

I'm Honored: Kevin Boland was named the Warrior/Inside Lacrosse.com and AllLacrosse America.com National Player of the Week for his effort in the win over Syracuse.

Go Figure: Kevin Boland's three goals against Syracuse were one more than he had scored in his previous 14 career games combined.

Something About Number One: In three career games against teams ranked number one in the nation, Kevin Boland has four goals and five assists for nine points. In his other 12 career games, he has one goal and five assists for six points.

Muir of a Good Thing: One of the most athletic and versatile players on the team, junior Tim Muir (Collingdale, PA/Episcopal) tallied seven goals and three assists in 10 games last season. This season, Muir is anchoring Hopkins' defensive midfield unit. He currently has eight ground balls to his credit and is helping Hopkins hold the opposition to just 7.00 goals per game.

Shawn, Brandon, and Brendan Who: Last season, seniors Shawn Nadelen, Brandon Testa, and Brendan Shook started on close defense and anchored a unit which allowed an average of exactly nine goals per game. Despite losing the three, who all earned All-America honors as least once in their career, the Blue Jays have allowed an average of just seven goals per game through three games.

It's Been a While: The 21 goals the Blue Jays have allowed are the fewest through three games by a JHU team since 1997, when Hopkins allowed just 19 goals through three games. By the way, the defensive coordinator that year was Dave Pietramala.

One Good Switch Deserves Another: Sophomore Corey Harned (Holbrook, NY/Sachem) was a standout attackman in high school, played short-stick defensive middie last season, and is listed as Hopkins' top long stick defensive middie this season. He picked up a career-high five ground balls in the win over Princeton and is currently tied for first on the team with 11 ground balls.

Long in the Tooth: Senior defender P.J. DiConza (Manhasset, NY/Manhasset) entered the season having played in 32 games with four starts to his credit. The next four players listed as close defenders (Michael Peyser, Dan DiPietro, Chris Watson, Tom Garvey) entered the season having played in a total of 26 games with one start.

Holding Them Down: P.J. DiConza held Princeton sophomore attackman Ryan Boyle to just one goal in the win over the Tigers, and that came with less than a minute to play in regulation.

More Holding: P.J. DiConza held Syracuse sophomore attackman Mike Powell to just one assist in the win over the Orangemen. Powell entered the game with 15 goals and 11 assists for 26 points in four games.

The Numbers Don't Lie: P.J. DiConza was enjoying a standout season as Hopkins' long stick middie before being lost for the season with a knee injury prior to the game against Maryland last year. Johns Hopkins had not allowed more than 10 goals and was allowing an average of just 7.3 goals per game before his injury. After he was lost for the year, the Blue Jays did not hold an opponent to less than 10 goals in any game and allowed an average of 11.4 goals per game in their final five games. Since the beginning of the 2001 season, Johns Hopkins has not allowed more than 10 goals in a game that P.J. DiConza has played in.

Coming Full Circle: Junior Mike Peyser (Cold Spring Harbor, NY/Cold Spring Harbor) arrived at Hopkins as a close defenseman and spent most of his freshman year playing there. He even earned a start against Maryland on close defense as a rookie. Last season, he played the first seven games of the season as a short stick defensive middie before playing the rope the final five games of the season after P.J. DiConza was lost for the year with an injury. This season, he's back as a starter on close defense and held Princeton's Sean Hartofilis to no goals on 11 shots in the win over the Tigers. He also held Syracuse attackman Josh Coffman to just one goal in the win over the Orangemen.

The Dynamic Duo, Part I: Freshmen Peter LeSueur (Garden City, NY/Garden City) and Kyle Barrie (Narberth, PA/The Haverford School) were two of the prize jewels of head coach Dave Pietramala's first recruiting class at Johns Hopkins. The two wasted little time jumping into the action as both started the season-opener against Princeton and combined for one goal and two assists. Barrie tallied the first goal of his career at the 9:46 mark of the second quarter to give JHU a 2-1 lead, while LeSueur assisted on back-to-back goals late in the third quarter to ignite a 4-0 Hopkins run. Both also scored goals in the win over Hofstra, while LeSueur added an assist in the win over Syracuse.

The Dynamic Duo, Part II: Freshmen Chris Watson (Yorktown, NY/Yorktown) and Tom Garvey (Garden City, NY/Garden City) were two more prize jewels of Pietramala's first recruiting class. Watson has started the first three games of the season and held Princeton's B.J. Prager to just two shots and no goals in the opener, while surrendering just one goal to Syracuse attackman Michael Springer. Garvey has seen time as a reserve in each of the first three games and received more playing time against Syracuse than he had in either of the first two games of the season.

Elementary My Dear Watson: Chris Watson scored a 1590 on his SATs.

Streaking- Part I: Johns Hopkins made its record 30th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament last season, a streak which is by far the longest in the nation. Hopkins has competed in every NCAA Tournament since 1972, having missed only the first tournament in 1971. Below is a list of the longest active streaks of qualifying for the NCAA Division I Lacrosse Tournament.

Team Streak Began

Johns Hopkins 30 1972

Syracuse 19 1983

Loyola 14 1988

Princeton 12 1990

Virginia 9 1993

Streaking- Part II: In addition to boasting the longest active streak of qualifying for the NCAA Lacrosse Tournament, the Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse team also boasts the longest active streak of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament in any Division I team sport.

Below are the longest active streaks in each of the five major team sports in which the NCAA sponsors championships. Bowl games for Division I-A football are not included since they are not directly sponsored by the NCAA. Also, finishes at national championships in individual sports (wrestling/swimming/track) are not included.

Team Sport Streak/Began

Johns Hopkins Lacrosse 30/1972

Miami (FL) Baseball 29/1973

Virginia Soccer 21/1981

Arizona Basketball 18/1985

Michigan Hockey 12/1991

Leading the Pack: In addition to the above streaks, the Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse team holds the record for the most overall appearances in the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament (30).

Below is a list of the schools with the most all-time appearances in the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championships (schools with 10 or more appearances are listed):

Johns Hopkins 30

Maryland/Virginia 25

Syracuse 22

North Carolina/Navy 20

Cornell 15

Loyola 14

UMass 13

Princeton/Army 12

Brown/Hofstra 11

Notre Dame 10

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